MetroCard Phase-out Delayed until 2022

January 21, 2015, 9:44 am

The MetroCard will be phased out in 2022, not in 2016 or 2017 as initially forecasted, reported the New York Post.

The authority had initially said the new fare-payment system would start to roll out in 2016 or 2017, starting with buses. The plan is for riders to buy tickets using their smartphones, and then scan or show the purchase from a touchscreen.

But the MTA decided to push back the roll-out after studying how touch-free fare-payment technology was working in other transit systems.

In cities like Chicago, the new fare payment systems frustrated straphangers with turnstiles that wouldn’t open after rides had been paid for, and long waits on customer service calls about the glitchy technology.

Independent engineers who looked at the project also recommended that the MTA take more time.

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